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Lennart Petrell has been an important part of the Edmonton Oilers penalty-killing success so far this season.

And with two key cogs in the PK wheel out in Shawn Horcoff and Eric Belanger, Petrell is ready to have his workload increased.

“Yeah, I’ll probably be out there quite a bit now,” smiled Petrell after an optional practice Tuesday. “They are going to count on me, but I think we still have some good killers on the team that haven’t had a chance to be out on the ice yet.

“Those two guys are big losses for us, but I don’t think it matters, whether it’s penalty kill, power play or five-on-five, guys are now going to have to step up which is good for the team. I think we’re going to be in good shape anyways.”

Heading into Wednesday’s contest against the Dallas Stars (8 p.m.) at Rexall Place, the Oilers possess the fifth-best penalty-kill unit in the league. They’re killing off 88.6% of the penalties they’ve taken this season, conceding five power-play goals.

“We take a lot of pride in our PK,” said Petrell. “We have good character on this team. I think the key for us is being able to read what the other team is doing and having everyone on the unit know what they’re supposed to do. I think we’re all on the same page. We’re taking bodies out from the front of the net and blocking shots, doing those sorts of things.”

Unfortunately, blocking shots is what has the Oilers in their latest conundrum.

Belanger was hurt in Colorado taking a shot off the foot, while Horcoff had his knuckle pushed back into his hand getting in the way of a blast and is expected to be out for at least a month.

The Oilers will try to replace the penalty-killing ice time of the two veterans by inserting another set of forwards into the rotation.

Sam Gagner and Anton Lander worked into the penalty kill against the Canucks and will do so again Wednesday.

“I think Sam has been doing a great job on the penalty kill,” said Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger. “The only reason I didn’t give him more time (Monday) is because I wanted to keep his line going. When he’s killing, he has to wait two shifts to come back and (Vancouver) would usually follow up a penalty with their third defensive pairing and we wanted to hit them with some offence right off their power plays because there was some opportunities for some offence there.

“Sam has been doing a great job on the penalty kill. He’s been one of the biggest positive surprises, his ability to kill penalties.”

As much as the Oilers are going to miss Horcoff and Belanger on the penalty kill, their absence will be felt even more in the face-off circle.

One of the reasons the Oilers were unable to hold their lead against the Canucks was their inability to win draws and thus spending the majority of the third period chasing the puck.

“That was a situation we felt (Monday) night, trying to close the game,” Krueger said. “It called for experience, it called for understanding to bring home a game where Vancouver was throwing guys deep into our zone for multiple minutes. That’s where our leadership was missing.

“It really is a difficult game when you’re playing top teams and you’re starting with puck retrieval all the time. Working on face-off is something that we’re working on even off the ice now, strategically, and seeing if we could use people like Shawn Horcoff and Eric Belanger to work with our kids while they’re not playing, and speak with them.”

The Oilers won just 30% of their draws against the Canucks without Belanger and Horcoff, who left in the second period.

The eternal optimist, Krueger hopes not having his veterans available helps the team out as a whole in the long run.

“These kinds of crises force you to get better in those areas,” Krueger said. “The kids all have to pick it up here and they all have to take it seriously. Maybe it’s a good thing for us long-term, but face-offs are going to be a challenge without Belanger and Horcoff.”

Notes: The Oilers have assigned defenceman Theo Peckham to the Oklahoma City Barons on a two-week conditioning stint. Peckham, 25, has yet to suit up in a game for the Oilers this season.

With two key members out with injuries, Edmonton Oilers still confident about the penalty kill

Lennart Petrell has been an important part of the Edmonton Oilers penalty-killing success so far this season.

And with two key cogs in the PK wheel out in Shawn Horcoff and Eric Belanger, Petrell is ready to have his workload increased.

“Yeah, I’ll probably be out there quite a bit now,” smiled Petrell after an optional practice Tuesday. “They are going to count on me, but I think we still have some good killers on the team that haven’t had a chance to be out on the ice yet.

“Those two guys are big losses for us, but I don’t think it matters, whether it’s penalty kill, power play or five-on-five, guys are now going to have to step up which is good for the team. I think we’re going to be in good shape anyways.”

Heading into Wednesday’s contest against the Dallas Stars (8 p.m.) at Rexall Place, the Oilers possess the fifth-best penalty-kill unit in the league. They’re killing off 88.6% of the penalties they’ve taken this season, conceding five power-play goals.